List of Balloon Fight References and Cameos
Elements from Balloon Fight have been referenced many times by other unrelated games and series. Most notably, the WarioWare series and Super Smash Bros. series have had many references and cameos. Balloon Fight itself may have been inspired by Joust; originally released as an arcade game in 1982 which features many similar gameplay elements; of note the player plays as a yellow knight riding a bird who must fly in the air and defeat enemies. Another game known as Hello Kitty World for the Famicom is closely based on Balloon Kid but with the original characters replaced with Sanrio characters. Timeline * Game & Watch Gallery 3 (August 4, 1999, GBC): The Balloon Fight Game & Watch can be seen in the Museum after being unlocked. * Chee-Chai Alien (February 23, 2001): Balloon Fight (specifically Balloon Trip mode) is parodied in Denny's (known in the original Japanese game as チドリ/Chidori)'s unlockable minigame, known as Kuufuku Hikou (translated as "Hunger Flying") (source). This game, Balloon Fight, and Balloon Kid were all composed by Hirokazu Tanaka. * Dōbutsu no Mori (April 14, 2001, N64): Balloon Fight is playable through an unlockable item. * Super Smash Bros. Melee (November 21, 2001, Gamecube): The Flipper appears as an item and a trophy, and the Balloon Fighter has an unlockable trophy. * Dōbutsu no Mori+ (December 14, 2001, GameCube): Balloon Fight is playable through an unlockable item. * Animal Crossing (September 15, 2002, Gamecube): Balloon Fight is playable through an unlockable item, and can even be sent to linked GBA (with 2-player mode missing). * WarioWare: Mega Microgame$! (March 21, 2003, GBA): A microgame is based on the Balloon Trip mode of Balloon Fight. * Dōbutsu no Mori e+ (June 27, 2003, GameCube): Balloon Fight is playable through an unlockable item. * WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$! (October 17, 2003, GameCube): The microgame from the GBA version is playable. * WarioWare: Twisted! (October 14, 2004, GBA): There is a microgame where the player must tilt the system to guide a Balloon toward the Balloon Fighter, who is hanging from a vine without any Balloons. There is also a record with Balloon Fight music, and a Balloon Trip-like boss microgame that features a car with a propeller. * WarioWare: Touched! (December 2, 2004, GBA): One microgame requires the player to tap and pop all of the Balloon Birds’ Balloons and avoid popping the Balloon Fighter’s Balloon. * Donkey Konga 3: Tabehōdai! Haru Mogitate 50 Kyoku (March 17, 2005, GameCube): One of the songs comes from Balloon Fight. * Electroplankton (April 7, 2005): In the third set of sounds in the Beatnes, the middle plankton's head and tail play the Balloon Pop and Bird Landing sound effects respectively. The background music of the third set also sounds similar to Balloon Trip's music, missing the main melody. * Tetris DS (March 20, 2006, DS): Level 14 in standard mode features elements from Balloon Fight, such as remixed music and a slightly modified sprite of the Balloon Fighter, as well as simulated gameplay on the top screen which seems to have five Balloon Birds on Phase 1. The “Touch” game mode also features graphics and music from Balloon Fight. In the records menu, the player can see the Balloon Fighter if they have 3000-3999 Tetris Points. In multiplayer, the Balloon Fighter’s head can be used as a team icon. * WarioWare: Smooth Moves (December 2, 2006, Wii): There is a 3D recreation of Balloon Trip, in both a timed microgame format and infinite score-based minigame. * Picross DS (January 25, 2007, DS): Some unlockable puzzles feature Balloon Fight characters. * Super Smash Bros. Brawl (January 31, 2008, Wii): The Balloon Fish appears in the “Summit” stage, which is otherwise themed around Ice Climber. The artwork for the Balloon Fighter and a Balloon Bird from the Famicom version box art appear as two separate unlockable stickers. * [[PiCTOBiTS|'PiCTOBiTS']] (January 28, 2009, DSi): Balloon Fight is given a stage, along with a dark variant that can be unlocked. Music from Balloon Fight is also in the game. * WarioWare D.I.Y. (April 29, 2009, DS): A microgame and record based on Balloon Fight can be unlocked. * WarioWare D.I.Y. Showcase (April 29, 2009, Wii): When playing records, the player has control over the composer from the DS version, who now looks like the Balloon Fighter. In listen mode, the composer large enough to cover the screen, and automatically flies and hits all of the notes. In play mode, the player controls the composer like in Balloon Fight and can hit the notes as they scroll by to play their sound. The Balloon Fish and Sparks also make an appearance. * [[DSi Instrument Tuner|'Nintendo DSi Instrument Tuner']] (September 2, 2009, DSi): A minigame called “Tuner Fight” takes place in a Bonus Phase from Balloon Fight, and requires the player to play the note on each of the 20 Balloons as they float up. At the end, the player is given a score on how well tuned their instrument was. * Pushmo (October 5, 2011, 3DS): One of the stages features a sprite of the Balloon Fighter. * Game & Wario (March 28, 2013, Wii U): 9-Volt’s game returns to the standard WarioWare formula, showing an animation of the Balloon Fighter with up to four Balloons representing your lives. The plot of this game revolves around 9-Volt trying to get back his high score on the “Balloon Fighter” game. * Taiko no Tatsujin Wii U Version (November 21, 2013, Wii U): Music from Balloon Fight was available as DLC. However, the song is no longer available to download. * Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (September 13, 2014, 3DS): The Villager from Animal Crossing can use a helmet with balloons to fly, and the move is called “Balloon Trip”. There is also a stage which is completely based around Balloon Fight, complete with NES graphics. * Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (November 21, 2014, Wii U): The Villager retains the same “Balloon Trip” move from the 3DS game, and Balloon Fight is playable in a timed demo in the “Masterpieces” menu. * Nintendo Badge Arcade (December 17, 2014, 3DS): A badge of the Famicom cartridge for Balloon Fight can collected and placed on the player’s home menu. There is also a two-part mega badge for the Balloon Fighter as he appears in Super Mario Maker while taunting. * amiibo tap: Nintendo's Greatest Bits '''(April 30, 2015, Wii U): By tapping any amiibo, the player has a chance of getting a three-minute demo of Balloon Fight for the NES, which is then assigned to that amiibo. By re-tapping the figure, the player can cycle through seven different scenes to start the demo from. The game also features links to an online copy of the Wii U Virtual Console version's manual and the eShop page. * '''Stretchmo (May 12, 2015, 3DS): In Papa Blox’s NES Expo, a few stages feature sprites from Balloon Fight. * Super Mario Maker (September 10, 2015, Wii U): The Balloon Fighter appears as a costume for Mario, and was added in an update. * Taiko no Tatsujin Red Version (July 14, 2016, Arcade): Balloon Fight music was in a medley of Famicom game music. * Hey! Pikmin (July 13th, 2017): One of the treasures which you can collect in the game is a cartridge of Balloon Fight for the NES or the Famicom. * WarioWare Gold (July 27, 2018, 3DS): A microgame is based on the bonus phase in Balloon Fight. * Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (December 7, 2018, Switch): The Summit stage from Brawl, Villager’s Balloon Trip Move, and the Balloon Fight stage from the 3DS all return, along with all three songs from previous games. The Balloon Fighter and Fish are included as "spirit" characters, each with a themed battle and art from the Famicom box art. Both of these spirits can be found in the game's story mode, World of Light. Category:Spin-Off/Related Games